Car unloader



oct. 21, 19.58

. original Filed Feb. 2. 1954 W. A. KOSTICK EVAL CAR UNLOADER ma? I 4suheis-sheet 1l INVENTOR:

4 Sheets-Sheet 2 .--Il i ||E| .lllllilill 1.. m

w. A. KosTlcK ETAL CAR UNLOADER v Oct. 21,v 1958v original Filed Feb. 2,1954- Oct. 21, 1958 w. A. KoSTlcK ErAL- 2,357,061

' CAR UNLOADER Original Filed Feb. 2, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 A l ill i@NH Oct. 21, 195s.v .w A msm-K, EFA-L 2,857,061

CAR UNLOADER Mdm/01# ArfaA/EXS7///////////////////////////////////l//l/l//l/l/ Original Filed Feb. 2,1954 United States CAR UNLGADER Walter A. Kostick, Minneapolis, andAndrew P. W. Buck, St. Paul, -Minn., assignors to Air-O-Flex EquipmentCompany, Minneapolis, Minn., a corporation of Minnesota Originalapplication February 2, 1954, Serial No.-

407,748. Divided and this application April 23, 1956, Serial No. 580,693

4 Claims. (Cl. 214-47) atent i mon method requires tilting the boXcar toone side and then endwise in order to spill the grain out of the doorinto collecting and conveying equipment lo-cated therebelow. Where nospecial apparatus is provided at all it is, of course, necessary for theoperator to provide hand .labor to push the grain from the ends of theboxcar toward the open door and into the receiver.

Prior art mechanical methods have proved unsatisfactory since theequipment used is expensive and the labor in connection with the usethereof is substantial. Furthermore, tilting the boxcar to the sideplaces a great :amount of stress on the box construction, oftentimescausing anold car to break and collapse. Where the Icar is tilted fromside to side, special housing facilities must be constructed to permitthe movement in both directions. It, therefore, becomes impossible touse the :side tilting method to unload a boXcar in conjunction with thestandard pits such as are constructed underneath trackage adjacent grainelevators.

The present invention contemplates, as an important object thereof, theprovision of apparatus for unloading a boxcar by tilting the car inendwise relation over an unloading pit and simultaneously deecting thematerial from the upper end of the boXcar outwardly through both lof thedoors.

It is another object of the invention to provide unloading apparatuswhich will accommodate all standard sizes of boxcars irrespective oftheir variance in dimensions.

It is another object of the invention to provide guid- .ing means fordeflecting grain downwardly and outwardly through the open doorways ofthe car, the guiding means being projected angularly through the doorwayof the car, then tilting the forward projecting end of the guiding meansalong with the boXcar to etfect removal of bulk material disposedtherewithin outwardly and downwardly from the open car doors.

A further object of the invention is to provide an endwise tiltingmechanism for a boxcar loaded with bulk material with decctors insertedin upwardly apexed V- shape manner so that the bulk contents of one endof the boXcar can be entirely removed simultaneously through both sidedoors following which V-shaped deflectors are then inserted with theircommon apex in the opposite direction and with the car tilted reverselyIto empty the other end.

It is a still further object of the invention to'provide 2,857,061Patented Oct. 21, 1958 ice apparatus of the class described in whichvanes are caused to project through each side door of a boxcar with aminimum of material displacement to produce deflector means for completeand eicient removal of the bulk material from the car, yet maintainingan entirely balanced condition of the boxcar during the unloadingoperation. tldilii These and other objects and advantages of ourinvention will more fully appear from the following description, made inconnection with the accompanying drawings wherein like referencecharacters refer to the same parts throughout the several views and inwhich:

Fig. l is a side elevation of our car unloader showing a boxcarpositioned thereon and overlying the pit. Portions of the structure arecut away to better show the internal cooperation of other parts, andportions of the pit are taken in vertical section to permit viewing ofthe structure disposed therein. The position of the car during unloadingfrom one end is shown in dotted line, as is one of the car positioningabutments;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of our car unloader with the boxcar removedtherefrom. Certain of the hidden structure is indicated in dotted lines;

Fig. 3 is an end view of our car unloader taken on .he line 3 3 of Fig.l, portions of the structure being shown in dotted line configuration;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section of our car unloader with a boxcarpositioned thereon and taken on the line 4--4 of Fig. 2. Portions of thestructure are cut away and othersl are shown in dotted line conguration;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged and segmented View of the door breaking andretaining mechanism taken in vertical section on the line 5 5 of Fig. l,the pressure plate being moved inwardly against the door sectionspreparatory .o breaking them loose at one side of the car. The upperposition of the pressure plate and retained door sections is shown indotted line;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail of the material penetrating and guidingvane mechanism taken from the top, as in Fig. 2, a boxcar beingpositioned on the unloader and horizontally sectioned and segmented todisclose the relationship between the oor and doorways with respect tothe mechanism. The door sections have been removed and one pair of vanesinserted into the boxcar preparatory to tilting the car. Portions of thestructure are broken away to reveal hidden parts and other hidden partsare indicated in dotted line conguration;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged vertical lsection of our device and showingdetails of the door breaking and retaining mechanism, as well as thematerial penetrating Vand guiding vane mechanism, in extended position.Portions of the structure are cut away and others are shown in dottedline. The door sections are moved to upper retained position and anopposed pair of vanes are inserted into the car in apexed relation; andY Fig. 8 is a schematic representation in perspective of a boxcar inupended angulation, the bulk material therein being unloaded, from oneend thereof. Unessential portions of the structure are cut away tobetter show the relationship and operation of the parts.

Referring to the drawings and particularly to Fig. 1, the generalover-all plan'of our car unloader is there shown. It is contemplatedthat our car yunloader be adaptable to use with conventional grainelevators having trackage extendingv adjacent the elevator and having apit structure formed therebeneath. It is contemplated Vfurther that ourunloading device may be installed over `loading device may be employedindependently of any elevator structure and is applicable to anysituation or location where it is desired to unload grain cars and thelike with a minimum of eifort and expenditure.

The main elements of our invention will be treated under separateheadings.

Pit structure The pit structure, as just noted, can be adapted topresent unloading pits without requiring; the dimensions thereof to beenlarged. Such consideration is in contradistinction to other types ofcar unloaders which require deepening of the pit because of pivotalconstruction at the center of the car, and because of the requirement insome instances, of sideways pivoting over an extended width. The pitstructure is indicated generally at 1Q and is aligned with trackage 11,as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The pit is preferably lined with concrete andprovides a bottom 12 and opstanding walls 13 thereabout. The centralportion of the pit is preferably enlarged at each side so as toaccommodate the material receiving and conveying device 14, whichusually extends laterally from the pit and to further mechanism forelevating or otherwise disposing of the material which has beenunloaded. The outline of the enlarged central portion is shown in Fig. 2in top plan view. The material receiving `and conveying device 14comprises a bin struc- 'ture 15 having sloping side walls andterminating in an open mouth 16 at the upper portion and terminating ina restricted spout 17 at the lower end thereof. The spout 17 may overliea traveling belt 1S which is supported in endless roller fashion uponthe rollers 19 and 20, the side edges of the flexible belt 18 beingsupported in upstanding manner on the side rollers 21. It is understood,of course, that other means of receiving and conveying may be employedin the place of mechanism 14. For example, ascrew type of conveyor couldbe employed for effecting lateral movement of the bulk material as it isunloaded into the pit. In addition to the enlarged medial area of thepit structure 10, we utilize a shallow well construction 22 at each endof the pit 10, the Well construction being adapted to receive theabutment members which center and hold the boxcar during tilting of thecar. The wells 22 thus permit the abutments to lie out of contact withany structure above the trackage 11 when the unloader is not inoperation. Details of this structure will be given under the nextheading.

Also forming a part of the special construction to be used in connectionwith our car unloader are the concrete supports 23, of which there arefour in number, one pair lying in spaced relation to one side of the pitcenter and the other pair lying to the other side of the pit structurein equally spaced relation. The tops of the concrete supports or pillarsterminate below the top plane of the pit as shown in Fig. 3. Theconcrete walls 13, the floor 12, and the supports or pillars 23 are alldesigned to accommodate the heavy weight of the supported structurecomprising our invention, as well as the total weight of a loadedboxcar.

Car supporting and end raising element Mounted in rockable inter-fittingrelation with the pit structure l is the car supporting and end raisingelement shown generally at 24, special reference being had to Figs. 1, 2and 3. The element 24 has a main body constituting a platform 2S whichis generally flat and o o-.planar with vthe top of the pit structure 10when in horizontal position, as shown in Figs. 1 3. The platform 2S issupported by rigid beam members 26 which form a supporting structure forthe upper surface 25 of the platform. It is preferred to have an extrastrong I-beam as one of the supporting members 26 underlying each of apair of rails 27 which are secured, in turn, to the element 24 and areclosely aligned with the general tracltage 11. An outer peripheral frame26av is adapted ,4 to intert in the enlarged medial area of pitstructure 10 and further supports a grill work 2 8 which .Covers acentral opening overlying the bin 15. The supporting members or beams 26carry a pair of spaced bearings 29 at each side of the open grill work28. Each pair of bearings 29 have a shaft extending thereacross, theshaft at the left as viewed in Fig. l being indicated by the numeral 30and the shaft to the right by the numeral 31,. Each of the shaftsextends through its respective bearing members for a short distance andthese ends are adapted to engage the cradle bearings 32 at the left and33 at the right as viewed in Fig. 1. Each of the pairs of cradlebearings are mounted on a respective pair of concrete pillars 23 aspreviously described, in connection with the pit structure. Additionalbearing members 34 may be secured to the beam structure 26 as shown inFig. 3 and are further adapted to retain in pivotal relation theuppermost section 35 of each of the hydraulic ram assemblies 36, at theleft and 37 at the right as shown in Figs. l and 3. The lower portion ofeach of the hydraulic rams 36 are pivotally mounted at 38 to supportbearings 39. An identical pivotal mounting is effected at the right ofthe pit 10 with the hydraulic rams 37 being pivotally mounted at 38 tothe same type of support bearings 39 as shown in Fig. l. It will benoted that the cradle bearings 32 and 33 are adapted either to providiuga stop for the extending ends of shafts 30 and 31 and provide a pivotalsupport for either of the same shaft extension, depending on which oneof the ends of the car supporting and end raising element 24 is advancedupwardly by the respective sets of hydraulic rams 36 or 37. Anyextensible and retractable means may be employed for raising the ends ofthe element 24 but we prefer the hydraulic rams as shown, either singlyor with a plurality of hydraulic rams for each end. The means forsupplying power to the extensible and retractable devices are not shownbut it is understood that any source of power may be employed and thatordinary hydraulic lines for supplying controlled pressures of hydraulicfluid to the rams 36 and 37 may be employed. Since it would be unsafe toraise both ends `of the car supporting and end raising element 24 at thesame time, we may provide a single control element (not shown) for therams 36 and 37 which can be actuable for raising only one end of theelement 24 at a time and preventing the actuation of the other end. Suchfeature will provide a safety factor in the operation of the unloader.

It will 'be noted that the particular spacing and positioning of thehydraulic rams 36 and 37 as well as the cradle bearings 32 and 33constitutes an important feature of our invention. The selectedlocations tend to minimize the degree of depression of each end ofelement 24 when the opposite end is in4 raised condition. It is for thisreason that we can obtain the necessary degree of angulation in raisingthe car supporting and end raising element while not requiring the upperend to be unusually high in the air, nor to require the lower end to beunusually deep in a pit. Further our lifting arrangement does notrequire a large amount of power even when adopting our invention to astandard pit structure. It should be noted that the particular spacingof the pivoting positions is such as to result in good balancethroughout the raising and lowering as well as during unloading of thecar.

The boxcar which is accommodated by our unloader is indicated generallyat 40 and may be of any conventional type having doorways 41 and 42 ateach side thereof, the said doorways being adapted to receive doorsections such as grain doors which are usually nailed to the doorwayfrom the inside of the car. An outer sliding door 43 is provided foreach of the doorways 41 and 42 and these may be mounted on a rail 44 ateach side `of the boxcar on trolley assemblies d5, as shown in Fig. 1,Our invention will accommodate all conventional boxcars regardless ofthe height of the car door 46 above rails 27 and regardless of theheight of the car top 47 or of the over-all length of boxcar 40. Thewheels 48 of the boxcar 40 are adapted to roll normally onto the tracks27 disposed on the car supporting and endraising element with theboxcar, positioned approximately medially of the platform.

Means for finally centering the `boxcar and for preventing movement ofthe car during tilting thereof comprise a pair of abutment members 49,one disposed at each end of the car supporting and end raising element.The abutment members 49 may be heavy castings having a hollow centralportion 5l) and provided with an abutting head 51 as shown in Fig. 1.The abutment members 49 are each equipped with a bearing block 52 whichin turn hasV a pair of horizontally xed locking bars 52a and atransversely extending shaft 53 rotatably journaled therewithin. Alongitudinal shaft 54 extends for the length of the element 24 and ispowered at a medial location by the motor 55 which drives shaft 54through pinion gear 56 and the driven gear 57, the latter being rigidlysecured to shaft 54. Bearings 58 may rotatably support the shaft 54 andare secured to the car supporting and end raising element 24 with theiraxes in spaced parallel relation with thetracks 27 as shown in Figs. 1and 7. The ends of the shaft or rod 54 are threaded as at 59, one of thethreaded ends bearing a right hand thread and the other a left handthread. Motor 55 is reversible so as to advance both of the abutments 49in convergent manner when operating in one direction and to retract theabutments divergently when rotating in the other direction. The fullline showing of the abutments 49 in Fig. l represent the fully abuttedconvergent relation with the boxcar 40 rmly centered and held againstdisplacement from between the abutments. The motor 55 may be providedwith automatic stop means which will de-energize and brake the motorwhen a predetermined degree of pressure has been attained between theabutments 49 and the lower framework 68 of boxcar- 40. During non-use ofour unloader, the abutments 40 may be moved divergently into loweredposition within the respective wells 22. This movement is accomplishedthrough sliding and rolling relation on a pair of tracks 61 which aresupported upon the beam structure 24 as shown in Fig. 1. The bearingblock 52 rests slidably on the tracks 61 at the inward end of each ofabutments 49 and a pair of rollers 62 are journaled for free rotation atthe outward ends of each of the abutments 49 and likewise contact thetracks 61. A track extension or guide way 61a is formed at each side .ofwell 22 and in alignment with track 61. An outwardly and downwardlyangled pair of track members 63 are positioned in each of the wells 22and have their upper ends in mating relation with the respective pairsof tracks 61. As the abutments 49 are forced divergently, the rollers 62will follow the tracks 63 in declining relation while the transverselyextending shaft 53 pivots within the vbearing block 52. When thelongitudinal shaft 54 has rotated with its threaded end 59 in threadablerelation with the transverse shaft 53 a sucient number of turns toposition the abutment 49 as shown by dotted lines in the well 22 at theleft of pit 10 as shown in Fig. 1, then the abutment will `clear theunder framework 60 of the boxcar 48 so that the boxcar may be placed orremoved upon the supporting platform 25 as desired, the locking bars 52aextending across the gap 22a and locking the supporting platformtogether with the pit structure 10.

Door breaking and retaining mechanism The door breaking and retainingmechanism is indicated `generally at 64 as shown in Fig. 1 andconstitutes mechanism which is mounted at both sides of the carsupporting and end raising element 24 by means of uprights or supports65 which in turn are supported on l-beams 66 rigidly supported in spacedparallel depending relation from the bottom of framework 26 as shown inFig. l. The l-beams 66 also provide track means for moving the uprights64 divergently and convergently away from and toward the sides of boxcar4t). The uprights 65 have inwardly extending plate members 67 which lieclosely adjacent the inside edges of the I-beams 66 in spaced relationat each side of car as shown in Figs. 1, 4, and 7. Each pair of plates67 have positioned thereacross a rod or shaft upright 65 at the sidepanels 71 which extend inwardly at the side edges of each of theuprights 65. Each of the shafts or rods 68 and 70 extend beyond thejournaled supports and the shaft 70 is provided with a supporting castor72 at each end, the castor 72 resting on the upper surface of each ofthe I-beams 66, as shown in Figs. l and 4. The shaft 68 has a similarcastor 73 secured at each outer extension thereof which is adapted toride upon the inside lower portion of each I-beam 66 as shown in Figs. land 4. An extensible and retractable power element such as the hydraulicram 74 is secured at 75 to each side of the unloader and in rigidrelation to the supporting framework 26 while each extensible inwardlyextending member thereof is secured to rods 68 respectively as shown indetail in Fig. 7. Both pairs of flanges 67 are tied together underneathframework 26 by the spaced toggle arms 76, which are, in turn,diametrically mounted on a shaft 77 which is mounted parallel to theshafts 68 and 70 and across depending bracket members '78 which aresecured in spaced relation to the under side of the supporting beams 66.The corresponding outer ends of the toggle arms 76 are interconnected byshort cross rods 79 which, in turn, pivotally support the two pairs ofconnecting arms 80, as shown in Fig. 7. The two pairs of connecting arms80 each extend diametrically in the opposite direction and are pivotallyconnected with the rods or shafts 69 which were, as previously noted,secured across each pair of anged members 67. Again the means forextending and retracting the opposed pair of uprights 65 may have powermeans (not shown) to operate them inwardly and outwardly from the sidesof boxcar 40. Thus, where hydraulic rams 74 are employed, a source ofhydraulic power with interconnecting hydraulic lines is to be supplied.The toggle arms do not serve to impart driving force to the uprights 65but cause the uprights to travel in unison when the power means isactuated in either a forward or reverse direction. The I-beams 66 serveas track members for the roller elements 72 and 73 and serve to maintainthe directional travel of the two uprights 65 in perfectly alignedrelationship.

The upper portion of each of the uprights 65 comprises a pair ofstandards 81 which are rigidly secured in spaced relation on each of theuprights 65 and are further provided with rigid cross supports 82 and 83respectively on the right and left uprights 65, the cross members 83being located at aslightly elevated position with relation to thecross'mernber 82 for a purpose to be presently described. Each of theuprights 65 have a pair of inwardly extending brackets 84 and 85 on theuprights to the left and right respectively as viewed in Figs. 4 and 7,the brackets-85 being positioned slightly higher than the brackets 84.Iournaled across the brackets 84 is a shaft 86 from which depends inpivotal swinging relation a rigid pressure plate 87, the pressure plate87 being slidably mounted on the frame 88l which, in turn, is mounted atits upper ends upon the shaft 86. A trip latch 89 is secured to theframe 88 through a pivotal connection 90, the trip latch 89 having afeeling nger extension 91 which extends forwardly of pressure plate 87and to one side-thereof while the catch portion 92 underlies the underedge of the pressure plate as shown in Fig. 5. The latch 89 has alaterally extending radial arm 93 havinglan opening through which rod94'extends in loose relationship, theA A shaft 70 is likewise journaledacross each rod 94 being rigidly secured to a mounting bracket 95 which,in turn, is fastened to frame 8S. A compression spring 96 is interposedbetween the bracket 95 and the laterally extending portion of latch 39and surrounds the rod 94 so as to constantly urge the radial or lateralarm 93 in a clockwise direction around the pivot pin 9@ for urging thelatch in supporting relation under the pressure plate 87 until such timeas the latch engages one of the door sections 97 which are secured tothe inside of doorway 41 as shown in Fig. 5. The identical pressureplate and arm mechanism may be supplied at the left side of car 40 asviewed in Figs. 3, 4, and 7, with the exception of the relative heightstherebetween, the entire pressure plate mechanism being higher at theleft side than at the right. Referring now to Fig. 4, an extensible andretractable power means such as hydraulic ram 93 is pivotally suspendedat 99 from the cross brace @2 on the right upright 65 and an identicalram may be similarly supported to the left upright 83. A slidable rodextension 100 projects from the ram 9S and is pivotally secured througha clevis connection at 101 intermediate the ends of a cam arm 102 oneach of the uprights 65. The cam arm 102 is pivotally mounted at 103 tothe upright standards 81, as shown in Figs. l, 4, and 7. The

outer end of cam arm 102 bears a cam roller 104 which is freelyrotatable in a clevis S as shown in Fig. 1. The cam roller 104 and arm102 are shown in Fig. 5 in rolling Contact with the outer surface offrame 88 so as to exert clockwise movement of frame 88 and the pressureplate 87 about the pivotal point 86 at the right hand upright 65 shownin Fig. 5 and a similar structure is mounted to the left upright 65 asshown in Fig. 4, the direction of rotation of the pressure plate beingcounterclockwise as viewed in that igure. Again, it is understood that asource of power such as hydraulic supply lines may be connected to ram98. Referring to Fig. 7, it will be noted that when the hydraulic rams98 are actuated upwardly, the loose door sections 97 at each side of thecar will be moved inwardly toward the inside top of car 40. The higherof the pressure plates 87, at the left as viewed in Figs. 4 and 7, willautomatically place it in overlapping relation with the pressure plateof the right side. In order to prevent the door breaking and retainingmechanism from colliding as the pressure plates are urged inwardly, itis necessary to operate the plates sequentially, causing the hydraulicram 9S to the left to first carry the door sections 97 in proximity tothe ceiling of car 40, then following with the pressure plate at theright to bring the door section from the right side of the car intounderlying relation with the first named pressure plate. It is preferredthat pointed elements such as the pins 105 be attached to the surface ofeach of the pressure plates 87 so that the door sections 97 will becomeimpaled thereon and retained during the upward movement of the right andleft pressure plates. In the event a door section drops off the pressureplate during its upward swinging movement, no harm will result since thematerial can flow therearound or, in the event the section shouldactually fall out of the doorway 41 or 42, it will be retained by thegrill work 28 and prevented from entering the receiving hopper 15.Referring to Fig. 5, it Will be noted that an abutment 87a on thepressure plate 87 will be engaged by roller 104 and pressure plate 87,together with door sections 97 will be pulled outwardly on frame 88until latch 89 is automatically reset, the spring 96 causing the portion92 to again underlie pressure plate 87.

Material penetrating and guiding vane mechanism Referring now to theFigs. 2, 6, and 7, the material penetrating and guiding vane mechanismis indicated generally at 106. The mechanism 106 is mounted on the sameupright mounting structure 65 that supports the door breaking andretaining mechanism. In addition, a rigid sheathing plate 107 is rigidlysecured to the beam structure 26 of the car supporting and end raisingelement 24 and supplies the multiple purpose of providing an encasingguard for the mechanisms attached to the upright supports and alsoprovides a ilat bearing surface for rolling contact at the rearward endof the vanes themselves as will be presently described. The guidingvanes are four in number, two being located on each of the uprightsupports 65 and angulated with respect to one another as shown in Fig.2, guide vanes 108 and 109 being located at one side and guide vanes 110and 111 being iocated thc other side of our unloader. The guide vanesare extensible and retractable and are preferably formed of a pluralityof telescoping rectangular members, the innermost section 112. in eachcase being projectible the farthest outwardly and having a beveled outeredge 113 as shown in Fig. 6. The next section 114 of each of the guidevanes receives the outermost section 115 which has an upstanding shaft116 rigidly secured to the top thereof as shown in Fig. 7. Each of theshafts 116 on each of the innermost vane sections is rotatably andslidably retained in a sleeve bearing 117. The sleeve bearing 117, ineach instance, is mounted between spaced brackets 118, the brackets 118being rigidly secured to the uprights 65 in paired relation at each sideof the nnloader. Each of the guide vanes 10S through 111 is adapted tobe retained at an upper position by a rearwardly extending cam bracket119 having a cam surface 12 and a retaining surface 121, as shown inFig. 7. We prefer to have the cam bracket 119 bifurcated so that aportion thereof extends to both sides of the sleeve member 117 when theoutermost vane section 112 is retracted completely as in the case of theguide vane member 110 shown in Fig. 7. When in this retracted position,the retaining surface 121 overlies and rests upon a pair of cam rollers122 which are rotatably mounted upon the sleeve bearing 117, as shown. Aiixed pin 123 is attached medially of the upper edge of the vane section115 and is adapted to retain one end of a tension spring 124, the otherend being secured at 125 to each side of each of the uprights 65 asshown in Figs. 2, 6 and 7. The outer edge of section 115 in eachinstance is provided with a castor 126 which is mounted for freerotation thereon and is adapted to contact the inner face of plate 107at each side of our unloader. Mounted internally of the telescoped vanesections 112, 114 and 115 is a hydraulic ram 127, the rear end thereofbeing secured at 128 on section 115 and the forward end of the ramplunger 129 being secured to the inside of the forward beveled edge 113as shown in Fig. 7. Each of the hydraulic rams 127 may be provided withhydraulic supply tubes (not shown) and controlled for extension andretraction in and out of the car doorways 41 and 42 as shown in Figs. 6and 7. The guide vanes are adapted to operate in penetrating fashioninto the bulk material within the boxcar 40 and to meet with the forwardbeveled edges 113 in apexed relation, as shown in Fig. 6. When thesections of the vanes 111 and 109 are withdrawn from apexed relation,then the vanes 108 and 110 may be similarly extended in oppositelypointed apex as will be presently described.

Operation In the operation and use of our ear unloader, and in thepracticing of our method of unloading boxcars, the boxcar 40 is pulledor pushed along trackage 11 and into approximate central position withrespect to the .car supporting and end raising element 24. The motor 55is then energized to cause the abutments 49 to raise on the inclinedtrack members 63 and in contact with the aligned tracks 61 until theabutting faces 51 of abutment members 49 exactly center the car 40 andmaintain the car frame 60 in secure pressing engagement. The motor 55 isthen cie-energized with the abutment members 49 remaining in theirholding relation and the outside car doors 43 having been moved to oneside to expose the inner door sections which are nailed over each of theside doorways 41 and 42.

The hydraulic ram 74 istheu caused to extend inwardly in convergingrelation with one another so as to simultaneously move the uprightsupports 65 inwardly toward the doorways 41 and 42 from the retractedposition shown in Fig. 2 to the position shown in Fig. 7. The latch 89will, of course, be first contacted by the door sections 97 and trip thepressure plate 87 so that it will drop to the oor of car 40 and oncontinued inward movement of supports 65 will break the door sectionsloose from the doorways 41 and 42 in sequence from top to bottom at eachside, the rollers 104 serving as positioning'member to achieveangularity. Since the pressure is equal and opposite, there will be notilting movement or strain on the framework of boxcar 40 except for thepulling of any fastening means such as nails which may have been appliedthrough the door sections to the inside of the car doorways. Aspreviously noted, the height of car floor 46 may vary from car to carand, hence, the slidable arrangement of the pressure plates is highlyuseful.

It will be noted that in the inwardly converging movement of theuprights 65, the sleeve bearings 117 aixed at each side of each of theuprights also move forwardly to change the angulation of all of the vaneelements 108 through 111 from the position shown in Fig. 2 to that shownin Fig. 6. The rear castors 126 are caused to travel on the insidefaceof 'the plate 107 so as to maintain contact therewith during thechange in angulation. The tension springs 124 tend' to retract the guidevane and maintain the rolling contact between the castors 126 and theplates 107 at each side of car 40.

The hydraulic rams 98 are then retracted sequentially, the one at theleft in Figs. 4 and 7 moving upwardly rst followed by the one to theright causing the pressure plates 87 to move radially with respect tothe axes of shafts 85v and 86. As soon as the door sections areloosened, bulk material such as grain to be unloaded from the car 40will begin to flow outwardly through the doorways around the doorsections. The conveyor mechanism and receiver 14 may be startedpreliminary to the breaking of the door so that there will not be asurplus of grain piled up in the receiving hopper at the time the car isultimately unloaded. As soon as the car doors are broken loose andimpaled upon the points 105 on each of the pressure plates, the pressureplate to the left in Fig. 7 is swung upwardly while the hydraulic ram 98is momentarily at rest. As soon as the left pressure plate 87 hasreached a horizontal position beneath the ceiling of car 40, thehydraulic ram 98 at the right in Fig. 7 is then caused to retract andraise its corresponding arm and pressure plate into underlyinghorizontal relation and out of contact with the bulk material to beunloaded. As previously noted, the frame and pressure plate to the leftas viewed in Fig. 7, is preferably mounted at a higher position so as toassist the sequential operation and to provide the necessary overlapwhen the door breaking and retaining mechanism has reached its retainingposition.

The uprights 65 remain in proximity to the sides of car 40 with theguide vanes angulated as in Fig. 6. One pair of hydraulic rams 127, suchas disposed respectively in the guide vane members 109 and 111 are thencaused to extend simultaneously with the vane sections 112 and 114extending as in Fig. 6. Here again, provision is made for variations inthe height of car oors 46 from one conventional boxcar to the other. Asthe most forwardly moving vane section 112 begins to move toward theinside of car 40, the cam bracket 119 will at first be supported onroller 122 and then will drop olf the roller and permit the entire guidevane in each instance to drop downwardly, the shaft 116 slidingdownwardly within the sleeve 117 until the bottom edge of the guide vanestrikes the car floor 46. The opposed pair of vanes 109 and 111 are thenfurther simultaneously extended until the beveled forward edges 113 cometogether in an apex then lie in a guiding relation completely across caroor 46 with their planes angulatcd to the transverse perpendicular andin upstanding relation with respect to the car floor 46. The beveledleadingedges assist thevanes in penetrating the bulk material which hasnot already spilled from the doorways 41 and 42 into the receiving andconveying mechanism. v The car supporting and end raising mechanism 1sthen activated at the left as viewed in Fig. v6, hydraulic ram 36projecting upwardly to tilt car 40, as shown in dottedl line in Fig. l.The shaft 31 toward the other end of the car will remain in pivotalcradled relation with the bearing 33 and thus will permit the lower endof car 40 and the right end of element 24 to swing downwardly into pit10.' The bulk material in the raised end of boxcar 40 will then flowdownwardly and outwardly in guided relation against the guide vanes 109and 111, being approximately equally divided in its flow through bothdoorways. The unloading operation requires but a few seconds foremptying half of the car 40 and the hydraulic ram 36 is then lowereduntil the shaft 30 is cradled in bearing 32 at the left as shown in Fig.l. The vanes 109 and 111 are then caused to retract to their respectiverams 127, the cam bracket 119 engaging rollers 122 at cam face 120 andagain raising the vanes to the position illustrated by vane 110 at theleft in Fig. 7. Guide vanes 108 and 110 are then caused to project inexactly the same manner as the first noted pair of vanes except thedirection in which the apex points when the beveled leading edges 113are closed together. In this instance the apex will be formed to theright and opposite to that shown in Fig. 6. The hydraulic ram 37 is thenextended with shaft 30 remaining in cradled relation with bearings 32and pivotally thereon. The right end of car 40 will then be raised inthe same manner as previously noted and the bulk material will be causedto flow from the unloaded upper end downwardly and outwardly in guidedrelation against vanes 108 and 110.

The car is then lowered to the full line position shown in Fig. 1, andthe guide vanesl all retracted fromV the car doorways. The pressureplates 87 are then lowered in reverse sequence, the grain doors beingremoved or returned to the car as desired. Finally the uprights 65 aresimultaneously pulled divergently from the sides of car 40, causing thevanes 108 through 111 to be likewise retracted and in complete clearancewith the sides of car 40. Abutments 49 are then retracted into wells 22,the locking bars 52a each bridging gap 22a at the ends of the platformframework 26 in securing relation with the guideways 61a. The empty carmay then be removed from the supporting platform Z4.

It may thus be seen that we have provided a quick and unique method ofremoving the doors from such 'boxcars as are used to transport grain andthen to unload the boxcar from both sides thereof, the apparatus devisedtherefor being adaptable to buildings and pit structures no wconventionally used in connection with railroad trackage.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made inthe form, detail, arrangement and proportions of the parts withoutdeparting from the scope of our invention.

What we claimed is:

l. An unloader for material contained ina railroad boxcar havingconventional doorways disposed one at each side thereof and in overlyingrelationship with a pit having a material receiving and conveying devicelocated therein, said unloader comprising means for supporting andtilting said boxcar in endwise direction only, upstanding mounting meansat each side of said boxcar adapted to tilt relatively to thetiltingmovement of said car, a compact guiding vane supported on each ofthe upstanding mounting means, each of said guiding vanes being composedof telescoping members having straight bottom edges and the forwardmostof the telescoping members being provided with an upstanding straightleading edge, means o'rienting each of said guiding vanes to the Vsameangle at opposed sides of the longitudinal center line of said boXcarand means adapted to project the telescoping guiding vanes at the saidangle to penetrate the material and bring said forward straight edgesi'nt'o substantial closure w-hereby to form an apex to divide saidmaterial and deeet it in balanced relation downwardly and outwardlythrough both of said doorways when the boxcar is tilted upwardly in theapexed direction of the guiding vanes.

2. The subject matter of claim 1 wherein each of said telescoping vanesis pivotally mounted adjacent its outer extremity to the supportingstructure for radial angulationthereabout prior to projecting thetelescoping vanes and penetrating the material.

3. 'In an unloader having endwise tiltability for removing bulk materialfrom boxcars through open opposed side doors, the improvement whichcomprises, a supporting structure at each side of the unloader 4and inclose spaced clearance with the side doors of the boxcar, a pair ofextensible and expansible guiding vanes mounted on each of said mountingmeans, each of said guiding vanes' having a lower straight edge and anupstanding leading edge intersecting therewith and one of said pairs ofvanes being movable in angulated relationv through a doorway with thelower straight edge in contact with the floor surface of the boXcar,said other supporting structure having a duplicate pair of vanes one ofwhich is movable in the same manner and at the same 12 angle withrespect to the other side of the boxcar, said vanes when so moved havingtheir forward straight edges in apexed and abutting relation fordividing and deecting downwardly and outwardly the bulk materialdisposed in the end of the b'oXcar lying forwardly of said apex whentilted upwardly to completely remove the bulk material from that end,said vanes then being retractable and contractable to their originalpositions and the other of each of said pairs of vanes then beingmovable in a like manner to form an apex pointed in the oppositedirection for removing the remainder of the bulk material from theboxcar upon upward tilting of the other end thereof.

4. The structure of claim 3 and a cam bracket o'n each of said vanes,each cam bracket having a horizontal track surface and an upwardlyinclined cam surface, and a plurality of cam rollers rotatably supportedon said supporting structure, each adapted to support a vane and cambracket whereby each vane upon extension will 'ride on said cam rollerand upon reaching the inclined cam surface will drop down to contact thefloor of the boxcai irrespective of the height of the car iloor.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNrTED STATES PATENTS l814,610 Leierts Mal'. 6, 1906 1,451,748 Vaughan e't al. Apr. 17, 19231,542,951 Perkins lune 23, 1925 2,641,355 Hudson lune 9, 1953

